5 Japan Church News

"Fukuin" = GospelFukuin (Gospel) Magazine

The Fukuin Shi (Gospel Magazine) is a monthly publication of the churches of Christ in Japan. It began in 1981 as a cooperative effort to help with communication between the various congregations, about 60 in all. Tsugisada Fukuyama, minister for the Katsuta church, has been the editor since its beginning.

Each issue has devotions, sermons, commentary on various Bible texts, personal messages of faith, history, instructional articles, and church news. This last section is important because it is a venue for local congregations to share information about their church life.

The image to the left is the cover of the December 2009 issue. Each cover will have a drawing or calligraphy done by a Christian. This particular one is a water color drawing of a camellia (tsubaki) which blooms in the winter season. The Japanese phrase says, “Facing the cold wind, it blooms.” At the bottom of the page is a passage from John 16:33 (mislabeled Matthew) which reads, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Below you will find links to “Church News” sections of various issues. As time permits news of interest will be translated and posted to these pages. Hopefully this will be a good way to gain a glimpse of the church life in Japan. We hope this is beneficial to you.

Japan Church News